Severn trolling report-Oct 14

[J.A. Veil]

I met Mark at the Tucker St ramp about 7:30. Raptor joined us later in the morning. We started out casting to a few shoreline stretches in Weems, but I soon decided to target stripers via trolling. After all the rain, I expected the water to be muddy with lots of floating debris and leaves. But the water was clear with almost no debris. It was calm and a pleasant temperature this morning. The water level was higher than usual.

I trolled back and forth a bunch of times along a one-mile course in the main river. On the first pass, I tried different depths, but after catching several fish in shallow water, I stuck to 3' to 6' depths the rest of the morning. I trolled two medium rods with 5" paddletails and two light rods with smaller jigheads and Gulps. I ended up paddling for over 4 hours and covering 10 miles. I caught 12 stripers -- three were keeper size (19", 20.5", and the last larger one -- more later). They were scattered almost at random over the length of my course. The two lures that had chartreuse and red coloration got most of the fish.

Here is a photo of the 20.5" striper. Note the hole in its dorsal fin. I don't see that too often.

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I was delighted to catch another larger fish (estimated at 23" to 25") that I got to see up close and personal. I was paddling into the wind when it hit. Once I stopped paddling to reel in the fish, the kayak turned sideways and drifted downwind. The fish was strong enough tangle all four lines. I got the fish next to the kayak and grabbed the jighead to swing the fish into the kayak. At that moment the fish shook violently, and the barbless hook slid out of its mouth. The large striper dropped back into the water. I contemplated some choice language, but decided to get back to fishing instead.

[Hemingway]

Good to have you back up North Looks like you brought back your A Game with you! Barbless is sure easier on the fish, but you might want to net the big ones just so you can take their photo for the rest of us

[J.A. Veil]

That fish may have cost me first place in the Severn River Rod and Keg Club Rocktoberfest competition.

Good to have you back up North Looks like you brought back your A Game with you! Barbless is sure easier on the fish, but you might want to net the big ones just so you can take their photo for the rest of us

[sparky1423]

Nice catch John! I have to start trolling more shallow waters. I am so prone to trolling in 8-15 FOW after spending so much time at the Flats, it's almost robotic. After seeing Dogfish catch some nice stripers in shallow water at the M&G and your latest report....I am going to rethink my tactics. I always try to think like a bass when I am trolling for stripers since that was the majority of my fishing before a kayak. Finding structure and current breaks, but know it looks like I have been avoiding good striper lairs.

[J.A. Veil]

On the few trips when I trolled at the Flats, I caught nearly all my fish in less than 6 ft depth.

The stretch where I trolled in the Severn today is best fished at higher water and no waves or wakes (the difference between calm 3 ft depth and a bouncy 2 ft depth is pretty important for the fish, I guess). I had conditions like that in June and cleaned up on perch and rock. Many of my visits since then were not very productive. But today the conditions allowed a steady bite.

[tufnik]

I probably would not be that restrained and would have barked out "choice language"....lol...

Compared with your "quiet" lures (jigheads/plastic, etc.), how do noisy crankbaits (e.g.,rat-L-traps) fare on the trolls?

[Mark]

John,

Congratulations on breaking the Severn code today. You caught 1.5 times as many fish as Raptor and me combined and 2 times as many stripers as we caught. Raptor had 4 and I had 2.

It was my first launch at Tucker Street. It's very scenic, especially at daybreak.

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Here's a shot of you working the rocks to the right of the ramp:

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Here's Raptor...always moving.

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Other than the white perch I caught in Weems Creek on the way out, I had a very long dry spell. It was so long I felt compelled to take a photo of this little guy who had the decency to give me a tug. I caught it near the sunken railroad tracks. You can see Fat Sam enticed him. I later lost Sam to the tracks.

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Of course, I wasn't bored during the lull in fish activity. The furlough has obviously not impacted the USNA sculling team. I had to pedal in high gear to avoid getting hit by these guys on two occasions today.

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Later in the day, I caught another white perch casting a Rat L Trap to dock pilings and I got a 14 inch striper trolling a red headed jig with a long chartreuse trailer in shallow water near Weems.

My only other excitement was that I got checked by the DNR police. Very polite and professional. He told me no one he had spoken to had been having much luck. I gather you were not checked today!

Anyway, it was good to be on the water after the endless rains. I just felt out of synch today. When you were catching with plastics I was using a Rat L Trap. When Raptor was catching with a Rat L Trap, I was using soft plastics. Some days are like that. But even days like today are better than not fishing at all.

Thanks to you and Raptor for joining me.

[J.A. Veil]

Compared with your "quiet" lures (jigheads/plastic, etc.), how do noisy crankbaits (e.g.,rat-L-traps) fare on the trolls?

I rarely troll crankbaits, in part because I don't like treble hooks, and because I troll 4 lines at a time (the swimming motion of plugs can lead to more tangles). On some days they have done well for me, but on other days not too well. In general, most anglers have their best success with lures in which they have familiarity and confidence. I know a lot of guys on this board fish Rattletraps, X-Raps, and other types of plugs. In their hands, those lures are very successful. I catch enough fish without using plugs, so I have little incentive to try them more than occasionally.

[Southerly]

quite a haul - congrats!

[Mark]

tufnik,

Please don't judge by my results today but trolling crank baits can be very fruitful. I'm generally not inclined to troll any lure. I prefer casting.

Yet I have had excellent success on occasion trolling Rat L Traps or X Raps, especially at Kent Narrows near the channel markers. In the Severn I have done well on other days trolling crank baits over the oyster beds. During some trips this year I have actually stopped using crank baits and switched to jigs and plastic because I got tired of removing treble hooks from fish.

Today I used crank baits and soft plastics. I casted more than I trolled and I came up mostly empty. The only fish I caught trolling was on a soft plastic in the size and color John suggested to me. Yet Raptor caught his stripers trolling crank baits.

Fishing is so very unpredictable. What works one day may not work the next or even later in the same day. That's what makes it interesting and fun in my opinion.

[Raptor]

Folks,

For what it is worth . . . I trolled the big four today - Rat-L-Trap, Storm Swim Shad, X- Rap, and Jig Head/Spinner/Twister Tail. Also, not a single perch.


T.

[Raptor]

Folks,

For what it is worth . . . I trolled the big four today - Rat-L-Trap, Storm Swim Shad, X- Rap, and Jig Head/Spinner/Twister Tail. Also, not a single perch.


T.

Somehow - I lost the punch line - I caught all four Stripers on the Rat -L - Trap.

T.

[J.A. Veil]

I pulled two sizes of Storm shads at different times this morning and did not get a hit on either. It is usually hard to tell what the fish want -- that is why I like trolling 4 lines with slightly different offerings. It allows me to get some idea of what is working and what is not.

[Raptor]

I pulled two sizes of Storm shads at different times this morning and did not get a hit on either. It is usually hard to tell what the fish want -- that is why I like trolling 4 lines with slightly different offerings. It allows me to get some idea of what is working and what is not.

John,

I have found that if the fish are there they will usually strike at least one of "the big four." I think our biggest challenge yesterday was that the fish are not schooled up . . . so we kind of pick one off here and there. I know that I paddled at least two miles per fish!. If it were for survival I'm not sure I would have come out on the plus side - calorie wise. Thank goodness it is not . . . Red - Hot - and Blue took care of any calorie issues.

T.